Last week, I had the opportunity to dine with Elysian Brewing founders Joe Bisacca and Dave Buhler, as well as brewmaster, Josh Waldman at Elysian Bar. Myself and other local area bloggers dined on pumpkin-inspired fare prepared by Chef Andrew Gribas. Each entree was paired with one of Elysian’s pumpkin beers.
Before the dinner began, I ordered a pumpkin beer flight, with Night Owl, Pumpkin Old-Fashioned, Great Pumpkin, Dark Moon and Punkuccino. I enjoyed and savored each one, with Night Owl and Punkuccino being my two favorites.
The first course was a pumpkin bratwurst, made with pumpkin spaetzle, roasted apple, and house-made stone ground mustard, served with Night Owl.
The second course was a beef and horseradish salad, made with chilled lemon and tarragon roast beef, mixed lettuce, fried capers, creamy horseradish vinaigrette and red radish. This was served with Saison Elysee.
The entree was Punkuccino chili-braised pork cheeks, served with creamy polenta and wilted baby spinach, paired with Blight. I admit, at first I was not looking forward to trying pork cheeks as I have never had it before. The tender, savory meat literally melted in my mouth and I soon had completely cleared my plate.
Dessert was a decadent pumpkin crunch cake, served with maple butter cream, mixed berries and candied pumpkin seeds, paired with Punkuccino.
Chef Gribas created delectable masterpieces with each plate. Each entree was well-seasoned and the pumpkin notes were not over-powering, for those who may be fearing that with autumn comes pumpkin-spice overload. Each of the beer-pairings added the perfect finish to each bite. I told Brewmaster Waldman that Elysian should come up with beer pairings for Girl Scout cookies.
I highly recommend checking out all of Elysian’s locations to not only enjoy your favorite beers, but to enjoy some gourmet dining as well.